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Directing resources towards women’s economic power and health lays the foundation for long-term resilience, inclusive growth, and improved well-being for individuals and communities worldwide. Select a page to learn more about our work towards achieving women's economic power for all.
Economic empowerment is not enough. Women need economic power.
Lessons learned from a career fighting for gender equality.
By Raania Rizvi
Senior Program Officer, Women’s Livelihood Development, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Women Change the Game
The WTA Foundation and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are teaming up to mobilize greater resources, visibility, and leadership for women’s health and nutrition worldwide.
Wave of New Commitments Marks Historic Step Towards the Elimination of Cervical Cancer
New country, policy and program commitments, plus nearly US$600 million in new funding, at first-ever global forum offer a chance to save hundreds of thousands of lives by 2030.
Melinda French Gates on how leaders can boost women’s economic power
The case for doing so has never been stronger, argues the philanthropist.
By Melinda French Gates
Co-chair, Board Member, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Global Alliance for Women’s Health
It’s proven: Closing the women’s health gap will allow more women to live healthier, higher-quality lives and boost the global economy by US$1 trillion—every year. Learn more from the Global Alliance for Women’s Health to reshape the future of women’s health.
Illuminating opportunities: Data on untapped potential
Employment
26%
Estimated GDP increase by adding more women to the workforce
(2022, Closing the Gender Gap in the Workforce, Council on Foreign Relations)
Pay gap
24%
Global pay gap faced by women compared to men across the health and care sector
(2022, The Gender Gap in Pay, World Health Organization)
Credit
$1.7T
Estimated amount of unmet demand for credit among women (in USD)
(2022, How to measure female entrepreneurship?, The World Bank)
Digital payments
80M
Number of unbanked women in developing countries receiving government transfers in cash
(2019, Banking on the future of women, IMF)
Investment
6X
Amount of capital investment received by male-owned enterprises in Africa compared to female-owned enterprises
(2019, Profiting from Parity, The World Bank)
Child care
300M
Possible jobs generated by investing in universal child care and long-term services
(2022, Care at work, ILO)
Policy and law
86
Number of countries where women cannot legally do the same jobs as men
(2022, Nearly 2.4 Billion Women Globally, The World Bank)
Commitment
$80M
Investment from our foundation in 2016 to help fill some of these critical gender data gaps
More on women's financial inclusion
Digital banking lets millions of people safely receive, send, and save money without the need for cash. One young woman in India explains how this is helping her community.
Poverty is not a single fact or condition, but rather a collection of them: a lack of financial assets, a lack of access to property, and a lack of voice in one's community.
Ram Bhatari, a recipient of the India Post Payments Bank’s door to door banking effort, tells her story about her pension with digital tools.
More on child care
Affordable child care can lead to millions of jobs for women, leading to a major economic impact. Learn more about the opportunity here.
By Yamini Atmavilas
Senior Program Officer, Gender Equality, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
The pandemic has been devastating to women’s employment. Unless governments and the private sector start to think of child care as essential infrastructure, post-pandemic recovery plans will falter.
By Anita Zaidi
President, Gender Equality Division, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Women’s funds have long been on the front lines of addressing persistent societal injustices. They need our support to address the harms suffered by women during the COVID-19 pandemic—from lost jobs to domestic violence.
By Melanie Brown and Elizabeth Barajas-Román
More on women’s economic power
The global advocate for women and girls shares the stories of some extraordinary women whose vision and ingenuity are creating new possibilities for their countries and industries.
By Melinda French Gates
Co-chair, Board Member, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Two recent graduates in Senegal had a great idea for a business. Because they were women, banks and investors kept saying “no.”
By Sybil Chidiac
Senior Program Officer, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
New Gender Equality Division President Anita Zaidi discusses the newly created division and what it means for the foundation.
By Anita Zaidi
President, Gender Equality Division, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
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